Festes de Sant Sebastià, Palma
Every mid-January, Palma throws itself into honouring its patron, Sant Sebastià, in the biggest street party of the Mallorcan winter. The signature night is La Revetla on the eve of the feast, 19 January, when practically every square in the old town becomes a free open-air concert venue and the air smells of sobrassada grilling over the flames. The devotion traces back to the 1520s, when the arrival in Palma of a relic of Saint Sebastian was credited with ending the plague then ravaging Mallorca. Programme: On the Revetla of 19 January, squares including Plaça Major, Plaça de Cort, Plaça d'Espanya and Plaça de Joan Carles I simultaneously host free concerts that run into the early hours. Bonfires (foguerons) are lit and communal grills (torradores) are set up so crowds can toast sobrassada, botifarró and other local fare over the coals. The fiesta also brings the correfoc — fire beasts and drummers sweeping through the streets behind the awakening of the Drac de na Coca, Palma's crocodile-like dragon — plus xeremiers (Balearic bagpipers), gegants and capgrossos parading through the centre. The feast day itself, 20 January, and the days around it round out weeks of events across the city. Good to know: The core concerts, bonfires and parades are free and open-air — no ticket needed, just turn up. The big night is the Revetla on 19 January, and the patron's feast day falls on 20 January. Concerts in the squares run well past midnight, so pace yourself. As a deep-winter fiesta held outdoors, it calls for warm layers — you'll be out in the squares late into a cold Palma night.
